Tweet

Episode Categories

Common Mistakes Everyone Makes When Printing Pt.3

Why printing at home is never cheaper, and where to have your prints made.

Photography, Photoshop, Post-Production, Production, Tools Nov 25 , Episode 182

Printing Your Image

Getting your image printed is very important, because it will give you more of an emotional attachment to your work. Having something physical is a lot more powerful than a digital file. There are some hurdles that many people face when printing, and that is what this 3 part series is all about. Getting over those hurdles, so you can get back to enjoying the process of getting better.

3 Part Series – Common Mistakes Everyone Makes When Printing

Part 1 – Cropping and Resizing
Part 2 – Amazing Tips to Check Color & Brightness
Part 3(This Episode) – Why printing at home is never cheaper, and where to have your prints made.

What You Will Learn

0:30 – Intro to Part 3
1:00 – Why making things yourself is almost never cheaper
2:40 – Where to get your prints made
3:00 – Using a professional lab makes a difference
4:17 – Paper recommendations
4:40 – The importance of getting it right
5:40 – A great way to get CHEAP prints
6:50 – How our printing survey will help you
7:40 – What was YOUR most recent print?

Gear Used in This Episode

Wacom Intuos 4 Small

Adobe Photoshop CS6

15" Macbook PRO

Sony NEX 5N

Audio Technica AT2020USB Microphone

« Common Mistakes Everyone Makes When Printing Pt.2

Introducing Actions + Contest to Win Phlearn PRO »

James Brown

I have been using Mpix for paper prints, but I would like to try WHCC. For canvas prints I use Artistic Photo Canvas Pro exclusively. They are amazing, expensive, but amazing! And for metal prints I use Image Wizards. I would like to own a nice printer eventually to be able to quickly print things off that aren’t too large, but as you said Aaron, it’s expensive.
Sebastian Ortiz

Thanks for the Episode, Aaron…
http://twitter.com/Jameswarwood James Warwood

I’ve used Snapfish before. They’re ok but nothing special. I currently us D.S. Colourlabs who are based in the UK. Great service at good prices. Never had a problem with them
http://www.facebook.com/people/Lawrence-Smith/100000267202500 Lawrence Smith

Honestly I never print at home,here in the Bahamas I print at a local print lab.The last thing I printed was from a maternity shoot last week.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeniholland02 Jeni

I love mpix. I only use them. I ordered test prints from mpix and whcc and I honestly was blown away by mpix. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

I’m actually getting ready to order a TON of photos of my daughters. I have a photo that I plan on getting printed as a 24×36. I’m completely geeked out about it too. haha
Kylem

I’m a proffesional and I use ACI Labs. The color of my monitor is the exact same color that their printer is using. We use spiders every day to get an exact match
Renatos Novaes

Hey Aaron, I’m curious… does the image mode change anything when you’re printing? Is it better to print in the CMYK mode?
Anonymous

I have gotten a few things from WHCC and have been very happy with the quality. They have TONS of options and products. I have gotten normal prints, prints mounted on foam-core, and tri-folds for leave-behinds. They also ship everything 2nd day air, and their shipping
The only down-sides are 1) that there’s not an online order form, you have download their software and place your order through that, and 2) that they have minimum order amounts. So a few weeks ago I just needed an 11×14 on 1/4″ foam-core, which was around $6, but had to pay the minimum, which was $12 I think.
I don’t know if MPix has these same down-sides or not, but WHCC has always delivered on quality and customer service for me.
Danet

The majority of my prints are from Costco. I have downloaded their printer profiles and calibrated my monitor so what I see is what I get. Their prices are unbelievable and they carry canvas. The downside: they only offer two paper options (matte or glossy). If you want a gallery quality art paper you have no choice but to go to a lab.

I am more likely to get prints made when they come from Costco because of their low price and ease of ordering–that way my photos don’t get stuck living in my computer.
Guest

Part 3(This Episode) – Why printing at home is never cheaper, and where to have your prints made. this is pointing to the wrong link =P
Jay

mpix is the consumer division of Miller’s I think. Mpix pro is the next step up. One not listed that does great canvas clusters is H and H Color lab.
Anonymous

I love my HP Photosmart 3210xi! My most recent prints are Christmas cards from Picaboo (I’m super impressed with them!) and a canvas from CafePress (meh…I got it cheap with a groupon).
http://profiles.google.com/jfinite Justin Bonaparte

I print at home using an Epson RX680. Prints are brilliant on Epson Ultra Premium Glossy Paper, and their Claria inks are awesome, but pricey; I get pretty good prints using cheap generic ink from ebay.
Kera Robson

Over here in London http://www.theprintspace.co.uk/ is fantastic! Visited it a few times and got some free prints. Its epic if your into different prints, they have loads of styles, and framings and everything.
Jeremy Cupp

I just ordered some test prints from Mpix!!!!
Chik_c

Blurb.com also has some nice stuff.. :p
Nina Rodriguez

THANK YOU for validating my point to my friend about using a printer vs printing at home!!! We have been arguing this for the longest. I didnt want to meddle with paper, inks, printers, COSTS, ect. I have used mpix before and I LOVE THEM. My most recent prints were from Shutterfly, my favorite for quick easy prints. I printed 16X20 pics of my newborn nephew for my portfolio and a few 5×7′s for family.
Ravi P.

I checked the previous posts, so I apologize if this was addressed. But if you are sending images to a printer or say canvasondemand.com, how can you anticipate how they’re printer will produce your images? I mean short of sending a test image to them for a canvas print… For instance, what ever I see on my laptop’s screen is most likely not going to be what comes back from the printer unless I know what to change. Is there standard that most people go by when they send images out to be printed? Also, forgive my “n00b”-ness, but if you send files to be printed, are high quality jpegs from CS5 adequate or is it better to send the PSD file? Thanks to all in advance for any responses!!
http://phlearn.com Aaron Nace

I would send them a JPG. It is hard to know exactly what the print will look like, and getting a sample is always a good idea. If not, be sure to talk with them about the process
Merelle

Would you say Mpix has good enough quality for gallery showing?
Matthew

I print at home mainly because I’m neurotic about my paper choices. Also seeing the paper come out of the printer is more than enough to justify the costs, at least in my opinion.
http://www.cap-photography.com Andrea Peipe

I have photos printed and tend you use a company called Pixum (German) for clients and just a regular drugstore printer for stuff that I want to put on my fridge for fun.

I found this episode really interesting, the whole series was very informative and I love when you cover “normal” stuff like this as well, not only photoshop! It is part of the whole business and I enjoy it a lot!

The last print I had made was a photo of my mum she is going to get for Xmas (and she will hopefully not search for my name before that and find this )
Alan Dryer

Really enjoying your videos, and especially this print series! Very interested that you’ve never calibrated your screen – everyone else always tells you to do this first!!

Also…. what part do profiles play in all this?

Great stuff, looking forward to seeing more….